
The UFC has decided on who will challenge for the bantamweight championship. Former UFC and WEC featherweight champion José Aldo will face Petr Yan for the vacant bantamweight championship. UFC President Dana White announced the fight in an interview with ESPN’s Phil Murphy yesterday.
"My people are probably going to kill me for this one…"@danawhite spilled the beans on trying to put together @PetrYanUFC vs. @josealdojunior for the vacant UFC bantamweight title 😏 (via @SportsCenter) pic.twitter.com/AIcd3lLIlD
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 27, 2020
In the interview, White said, “(Henry) Cejudo has retired, so we’re talking right now about Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo for the vacant title.”
Aldo is on a two-fight losing streak. He is coming off a split decision loss against Marlon Moraes at UFC 245 on December 14, 2019. White thought Aldo won the fight and looked good in his bantamweight debut. Aldo was supposed to fight former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo in a title fight on May 9. However, Aldo was unable to compete due to visa issues.
Yan has been in the conversation as someone who deserves to challenge for the bantamweight championship. Yan is on an impressive nine-fight win streak. His last win was a knockout against UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber at UFC 245. He took issue publicly when Cejudo called for a fight against Aldo and Dominick Cruz instead of him. In a past interview with MMAFighting, Yan said “You all can see that ‘Triple Clown’ [Cejudo] is trying to avoid the fight with me. He’s even afraid to mention my name. All I see is his mental weakness now. Let’s do it if you consider yourself a champion – try to prove that I’m wrong.” With the bantamweight championship vacated, Yan will finally have his chance.
Both Yan and Aldo are currently training. The fight is not yet official and still being planned. White mentioned in the ESPN interview that the fight has yet to have a date or location.
Tyriece! Great post my man. Certainly a big turn around for the division after Henry’s retirement. Quick question though… I applied for an internship position and I was wondering if you could get me in contact with someone to discuss the role.
Thanks!